384 THE ‘‘BLUING”’ AND THE ‘‘RED ROT” OF THE PINE. 
which will be hard and sound, but badly blued. Then again, if the 
recommendations as to the cutting of live trees which are infested 
with beetles are followed there will be timber which will in all 
respects be like the green timber. A tie cut from the top of a tree in 
September, after the beetle attack in August, will usually be perfectly 
healthy, i. e., it will show no traces of blue color or only very slight 
ones. 
Ali timber which is entirely sound, i, e., not decayed, is fit for the 
uses to which it can be put in the Northwest, either for mine timbers, 
lagging, ties, etc. The blue color is not to be considered as a sign of 
decay. Timber which shows rotten spots of any size in the sapwood 
should not be used. An idea of what such decayed spots look like can 
be gained by studying the photographs reproduced on Pl. X, figs. 1 to 
38,and Pl. XIV, fig. 1. Besides the defect caused by the ‘‘red rot,” one 
will sometimes find logs which show decay in the center. This is a 
disease of the /iving tree, and when more than one or two rings are 
affected by the disease, such logs should likewise be rejected. ‘The tie 
section shown on PI. XIV, fig. 2, 1s an example of this form of rot. 
A careful and intelligent inspector who familiarizes himself with 
the causes of the decay in the Black Hills Forest Reserve ought to 
have no difficulty in determining after some practice which timber is 
fit for use and which ought to be rejected. No amount of chemical 
treatment will, so far as we now know, make a practically decayed log 
serviceable. 
RECOMMENDATIONS. 
Bearing in mind the considerations just referred to, the following 
recommendations are made: | | 
(1) Removal of wood from the forest.—The dead timber should be 
removed from the Black Hills Forest Reserve at once. It forms a 
standing fire menace. The standing beetle-infested trees serve to 
spread the insect trouble. This dead timber should be removed at 
once, or at the earliest possible moment, and the living infested trees 
should be felled and peeled as recommended by Dr. Hopkins, for with 
every day the situation becomes more and more difficult to handle. 
(2) Sale of wood.—In order to rid the forest of danger from fire, 
from further insect and fungus spread—in other words, in order to 
protect the remaining living trees from further destruction—the dead 
wood should be removed. The cost of operation in removing the 
dead timber is very considerable: (1) Because of the distance from 
lines of transportation; (2) because of the greater difficulty in cutting 
this wood; (3) because of the scattered localities in which it is found; 
(4) because of the constant care and selection necessary to get good 
sound wood. Therefore, because of this increased cost, it 1s recom- 
mended that the dead and beetle-infested timber be sold at a nominal 
Mie 
